On The Inside
by The Unknown Warrior 11
Summary: The Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are back, this time with a newer evil. Full cast returns. R&R no flames please
1. Tortured Soul

On the Inside  
  
Authors Note: This is my first fanfic, and first fic ever. If you like it say so, and if you don't then tell me but don't be too harsh, as in NO FLAMES please! It is a story coming from Siegfrieds' point of view inside of Nightmare and the Soul Edge. I'm writing this because Nightmare rules. You may wonder what that has to do with anything but I'd just tell you that Nightmare and Siegfried are basically the same person. Did I mention that Nightmare rocks? Okay here goes.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II or any of its characters. They are copyright of NAMCO (or NINTENDO for Link, or Todd McFarlane for Spawn depending on the version).  
  
It awoke to darkness. Although it knew where it was subconsciously, it still reached beside itself to find the long familiar switch that had been so well associated with light in its past life. Technically this still was the same life, but the life no longer belonged to it. Everything that it had held dear to itself, its memories, its family, its adventures and journeys, and even its. no, HIS name, he violently reminded himself, were slowly becoming a dark slur in his mind. Not only in his mind, but also the mind of the creature that shared his body. Not that the creature cared about the memories of the fool.  
  
The creature that had taken his body and soul long ago and was now ravaging the peaceful countryside the creature that had killed every person in his village, the creature that had killed his father, and doing all of these tasks using his body and being commanded by the hellish blade that he wielded. The blade of evil that fed off the souls of the innocent and guilty, the Soul Edge.  
  
Yes, he reminded himself, the Soul Edge, the blade with a mind of its own and an eye to boot. The Soul Edge had called to him, promising power, and fame, and on top of everything else, the reincarnation of his father. So he had wielded the blade, winning wars, stopping assassins and, he sadly reconciled, slaughtering entire cities.  
  
For the minute he had picked up the blade from its hiding spot of eternal damnation, it had taken control of him, horribly mutated his body and turned his sword arm, his right into a hulking claw capable of tearing down concrete and holding the enormous sword of the damned in one hand. The Soul Edge had then created an armour from the pits of hell itself to cover the horrifying truth of who the creature truly was and fed itself off of the souls that its newly developed alter ego, Nightmare the azure armoured slaughterer, had ripped from the bodies of the men, women, children and animals it slaughtered. Yet that was not what sickened the man, or the shadow of what was left of him. What caused him to forever feel the heavy burden of guilt was that the creature Nightmare had actually enjoyed savagely ripping the souls from the bodies of the dead and near dead.  
  
Yet in spite of all this, the man inside had hope. The hope that someday, someone would save him from his prison, the same hope that he could start a family and live the rest of his life to the fullest. That the horrible mutations of his body and, most severely, his right arm, would disappear along with the deep blue armour that had come with it, and the hope that someday he, Siegfried, for that was what his name truly was, could freely walk the wide world without bringing fear, pain and death with him. A world that was not corrupted by the evils of Nightmare, or the Soul Edge.  
  
So there it is. Do you like it? If yes then review and tell me or make CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. If you don't like it. well it's my first so I'll only get better (I hope). Anyway, see you all later. Don't forget to review. 


	2. For Every Light There Is A Dark

On The Inside  
Chapter 2: For Every Light, There Is A Dark  
  
A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while but my Internet was having some major problems. But they're fixed so on with the Story! This is chapter two of what was supposed to be a one-chapter story. After all the reviews I got from the first, I decided I could take this story a whole lot further. I figured that everyone could use a little Nightmare in his or her life! If there are any people who hate Nightmare (gasp!) don't worry, I've also decided to put some other characters in this story as well (secret!). I hope this turns out as good as the last.  
  
Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Soul Calibur or anything to do with it. It belongs to some people (NAMCO) who are going to be rich if they aren't already. The only thing that belongs to me is this story. Enjoy.  
  
The creature awoke to the smell of fire. Standing up, it surveyed its current area. The smoke billowed from innumerable fires littered throughout the once proud and magnificent city. Those words could no longer be used to describe any one thing in this burning inferno. It had come to this city looking for the souls of every person in the city. Yet this thing was no human, creature or anything resembling anything at all sane in our world. The sword of the damned it was. Its unblinking yellow eye surveying the destruction and death it had caused through its medium but the sword itself was aware of everything. This was because it was the Soul Edge, the devourer of souls. Yet it could not have gotten to where it was now had it not been for the creature.  
  
For this was a creature from hell, mutilated and mutated until it only vaguely resembled anything human, its huge, clawed arm, greedily grasping the blade of evil. It had once been human, and almost pure, yet no person was truly clean. He had been a thief, and a murderer but a damn good one. Not that the creature cared about the past of the weakling it had devoured yet whose soul still remained unbroken inside the sword. That soul had been of a man named Siegfried. All who lived in that day knew of the man and what he had become. So if the creature had once been Siegfried then this could only be the creature of legend, the evil one. This was Nightmare.  
  
Nightmare strapped the Soul Edge to its back. The sword was growing restless in its search for the souls of others to make itself stronger, and could not allow Nightmare to remain in one location for more time than it took to destroy everything. At 6 feet tall he had been noticed as soon as he walked into the city. Not that his height had set the city's' alarms off. No, it had been his dark azure armour, his huge clawed hand, the Soul Edge in his hand and the bodies of two guards flying through the air in front of him. He had calmly walked through the relentless hoards of imperial guards, powerfully swinging the Soul Edge through the air, leaving half bodies and blood everywhere. He spared no one, not the men, women or children. Or at least.  
  
.so he thought.  
  
A/N: Well that's the second chapter. Sorry its so short but I set myself up for that. Stupid mystery scripts (random cursing in background). But anyway, please review and suggest ANY character you would like to see coming up in the next chapters (that includes the exclusive characters too: Link, Heihachi, and Spawn). That would really help A LOT! Until next time. 


	3. Alpha and Omega

Chapter 3:  
Alpha and Omega  
  
A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! This is chapter 3. I'm not gonna say much here so enjoy! Plus I do not own Soul Calibur or anything to do with  
it. They are the respective property of Namco. I do own this story.  
  
  
  
The clash of sword against shield echoed through the temple. The stone pillars seemed to shake with each crashing blow. Two figures stood in the middle of the main chamber of the temple, locked fiercely in combat. The younger one took a carefully aimed stab at the older fighter, but she dodged it with a back flip and then ran forward with a vertical blow. The young warrior blocked the blow with her shield but it knocked her down and sent both sword and shield flying. She leaned up to discover the sharp point of a sword inches from her face. " You're getting better Cassandra." The older one said. "You're not too bad yourself Sophitia." Cassandra said.  
  
The Greek sisters walked out of the temple of Hephaestus together, laughing at the events of their battle. Both had witnessed the destruction of the Soul Edge, hopefully for the last time, and had rejoiced with the rest of the warriors before heading home. Both had settled back into their lives within weeks. Sophitia had returned to her husband and children, and Cassandra had simply gone home to her mother. She often caught herself thinking of the fighters that she had parted with and wondered how they were doing. Mitsurugi, Maxi, Kilik, Xianghua, Taki, Raphael, Seung Mina, Talim and Yun Sung had probably all returned home, she thought, but what of the others? Ivy, the Assassin, the strange Lizardman, Link, Heihachi and the dark Spawn were all she would allow herself to remember. She dreaded the others, the demon Astaroth, the monster Necrid, the abominable Charade, that weird Voldo, and the most horrid one of all. The evil one, the almost inhuman thing, who called himself Nightmare. Images of him and the cursed sword, along with his evil laughing taunts, still haunted her dreams. She shuddered and turned to look at the sea.  
  
The sun was slowly setting over the sea, casting a golden-reddish hue over the harbour and landscape. "The sea looks beautiful today doesn't it Sophitia?" She asked her sister. " It sure does." Sophitia replied with a smile. "But we had best get home before supper gets cold, otherwise." Her sentence was cut short as a deafening explosion sent them both to their feet. Both jumped up to discover a pillar of smoke rising into the air. "What the hell was that?" Cassandra asked her sister. Sophitia shrugged and began to run back to the village. Cassandra started after her, glancing at the harbour while she ran. A pirate ship would not attack the village so why was one here? There was no mistaking the skull and crossbones on the flowing black flag. She suddenly stopped. How could a flag move on a day with no wind? She turned and sprinted after her sister, into the heart of town.  
  
The village was in utter chaos. People ran and screamed, children cried, and that was only going past the gates to the village. As the sisters neared the harbour, the screaming grew louder, now mixed with the sounds of the painful moaning of the dying. Bodies littered the street, blown apart by the force of the blast and the shrapnel. Then suddenly the scene changed. The bodies lying on the ground were no longer ripped apart. They were cut! As Cassandra and Sophitia reached the ship, the sky grew dark. Both drew their swords and slowly walked forward. Just as they reached the boarding ramp, a dark voice spoke out. "Girls!" It exclaimed "How lovely to see you again!" A dark figure began to walk down the ramp. Cassandra squinted to make out whom it was, and then she saw. She had forgotten about him. "Dear lord." Sophitia muttered as she too noticed whom it was. He laughed. The ring of a sword being drawn echoed out and red eyes glowed in the darkness "We really must stay and chat."  
  
Cervantes de Leon had returned. And he was not happy. 


	4. The Last Samurai and The First Cherry Bl...

**_Chapter 4:_**

**The Last Samurai and the First Cherry Blossom**

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**Hethra:** I know, this took a long time. I'm sorry but I'm really busy. So I'll skip the talk and start the story.

**_Disclaimer_** I do not own anything but this story. Simple yet effective, no?

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A cloaked wanderer walked into the city, bringing with him an air of mystique, and a smell of someone who had gone too long without a shower. Had the people of the town had a stronger sense of smell, they could have detected a hint of the coppery smell of blood among the scents of sweat. He would have simply killed anyone who voiced that thought.

The city was a slew of merchants, gamblers, pickpockets, and prostitutes. When latter of which continually bombarded him with their cheap pick-up lines **_(How about you take off that coat and get comfortable)_** he only smiled, and lifted one side of the coat to reveal two glimmering swords and red body armour. They left him alone after that. He was glad. It was less of a city and more of an adult funhouse, but he hadn't come all this way to this god-forsaken shit of a town to indulge in cheap thrills. He came to get information. And _kami_ help anyone who got in his way.

He wandered through the city, trying to find the address that was on a small piece of parchment clutched in his left hand, and trying to keep his money in the other. Damn these pickpockets, he sighed. He'd already lost 200 yen to those fools, and had only enough left for a half decent lunch. His stomach growled, and he stopped, his destination lost amid the continuous rumblings that told him he was hungry. But he didn't need to be reminded. He looked around and saw a small bar, with a rusty old sign shaped like a tree overhead. It read: _The Cherry Blossom Bar_. He did a double take, and looked at the address. Same place, he thought. Now to find this… _Kilik_ guy. Shouldn't be hard. With a name like that, he might as well have been a Samurai warrior. But he was the last, he reminded himself bitterly. He was a wandering soul, a mercenary, and a ronin. But he didn't tie himself to his past, if anything he tried to forget it. And so, with a look around to see if anyone was watching him, he entered the bar. But he missed the creature perched atop the clock tower, with its yellow eyes and large crystal embedded in its chest. It then disappeared, only to emerge from the shadows below with a giant holding a giant axe, and both began walking to the bar.

Inside the bar Mitsurugi was taken aback by the smell. It was as if the people used this place as a bar, kitchen, and bathroom. He started breathing through his mouth, fearing that he would throw up if he didn't. The babble within the bar was at a deafening level but Mitsurugi had trained himself to listen to one conversation at a time. He ordered a drink and set to listening to the conversations of others. It was not long before he found an interesting conversation among the other idiot's conversations. He stood up a looked over to a darkened corner in time to see a man fly across the room. The talking stopped momentarily, and quickly resumed. Obviously this happened quite often. Mitsurugi saw a young girl with a fist-upraised scream out,

"**Next time I tell you that I DON'T need anyone to show me why golf is a great sport maybe you'll take the time to pull your head out of your ass so you can LISTEN!**"

She then sat down. Mitsurugi noticed that she was sitting with two very frightened looking men. One of them had jet-black hair and a vest. The other had long brown hair and a scar across his right eye. Mitsurugi grinned. He had found his quarry. Scar face was the man Kilik. The other man was Maxi, and the girl must have been the girl Chai Xianghua. He began walking over to them. The men were arguing with the girl, and none of them noticed Mitsurugi until he was standing beside them. He sat down beside the girl and began to talk.

"I know that you each have something that I want, and I'm going to give you two options. One: you all give me your pieces of the Soul Edge, or two: I take them from you. So I'll let you three choose. He pulled back his cloak to reveal his blade, the Masamune, and a slightly smaller Wakazashi. The three looked at each other and each reached under their table and pulled out a weapon each to show that, they too, were armed. Xianghua spoke up.

"Just because you have a sword, doesn't mean that you can boss us around." The other two nodded in agreement. Mitsurugi scowled. He was about to voice another opinion, when he heard a most peculiar knock on the door near the entrance.

_"Can I help you… oh my god! What… What are you?"_ the doorman, Mitsurugi guessed. A deep voice suddenly boomed across the room, cutting all other conversations down to nothing.

"**Out of our way, human SCUM!**" the last bit was yelled, and suddenly the body, or more accurately, the two halves of the waiter flew across the room, spraying blood everywhere. For about three seconds everyone looked at the two intruders, then, when the fact that the two looked like monsters entered all their minds, the people in the bar started screaming. In those three seconds, Maxi, Kilik, Xianghua and Mitsurugi had jumped out of the pew where they were sitting and had drawn their weapons. They didn't need anyone to remind them who these two were. Maxi looked as if he was using every ounce of his energy so as to not lash out at the giant. He growled through clenched teeth.

"Astaroth." The Giant looked at them, and began to laugh. The creature beside him simply stood where it was, glaring at the humans. The demon Astaroth stopped laughing and looked at them. When he spoke, the glasses on the table shook.

"**Well Human. I would have thought that someone would have smashed you by now.**" Maxi grinned.

"Naw, I was saving myself for you Shit-face." The giant's smile faded. He glowered at the warriors.

"**Well then, I guess I'll just CRUSH you RIGHT NOW!**" The giant hefted his axe and charged at them. Maxi smiled. And jumped at Astaroth, Nunchaku already spinning. Mesmerized by the battle, the other three did not realize that the second Demon had snuck up behind them. It raised its fists and brought them smashing down on Xianghua's head. She crumpled. As Mitsurugi turned Kilik stood frozen, looking pale and sickened. Mitsurugi looked at him, and tackled him out of the way of the demons second attack seconds before it would have driven Kilik through the wall. Mitsurugi groaned. _Great, just great. They must have feelings for each other._ Mitsurugi yelled over to Kilik as he drew the Masamune,

"You can cry about how you failed her after we've killed these demons. But for now, actually be the hero and get her out of the goddamned way!" With that, Mitsurugi jumped headlong at the demon, sword raised above his head, and as the demon turned, he brought the sword down. The demon raised its hand, and a beam of energy grew out of it to defend itself. Mitsurugi was temporarily shocked. Then he remembered. This was that demon Necrid. But he looked different somehow. He was orange instead of green, and he had horns growing out of his hand. He blocked a vertical strike and countered with a horizontal strike to the abdomen. It was blocked again, and the beam sword shifted to a giant axe as Necrid tried to cut Mitsurugi in two. Mitsurugi blocked that again, but was driven to the ground. The Demon grinned and said something in its hellish language. It raised his hands, two swords already growing there, and brought them down. Mitsurugi closed his eyes, awaiting the deathblow…

…but it never came. Mitsurugi opened his eyes. A red pole was held across the path of the blades, effectively blocking their path. Kilik was holding the blades back. There was a strange look in his eyes. He growled at Necrid.

"You hurt her, you son of a bitch. And now, I'm gonna kill you." He screamed, and was enveloped in a green glow. Necrid seemed to be taken by surprise, and faltered for a second.

That second was all Kilik needed.

He ran forward, staff spinning at blinding speeds. Necrid was being brutally beaten. Mitsurugi could barely see the staff, and Necrid seemed to be getting hit by nothing at all. Still screaming, Kilik did not hesitate or show any mercy as he effortlessly drove Necrid back against the wall. Then Kilik screamed louder, and executed a sidekick with such brutal force that Necrid was flung through the wall. Kilik stopped screaming, gasping for breath, and turned to face a wide-eyed and shocked Mitsurugi. He stared speechlessly at Kilik. Kilik just shrugged.

"He hurt Xianghua." He said. He then began to walk towards the place where he put Xianghua out of the way, his back turned to the hole in the wall. That was when a bloodied and beaten Necrid leapt out of the hole at Kilik, who didn't see any of it. Mitsurugi shook off his stupor and ran towards Kilik, yelling at him to get out of the way. _I'm never gonna make it…_ Mitsurugi thought to himself, even as the energy spear grew to an alarming size. Kilik turned in time to see the point of the spear rush towards him, and suddenly found himself wishing that he had spent more time with Xianghua. The spear rushed forwards…

… and there was a strangely muffled _thud_ as a silver shuriken flew into the crystal on Necrid's chest. Necrid stopped, looked around, and disappeared. Kilik stood statue still for a moment, before collapsing in a dead faint. Mitsurugi reached the point where the monster had disappeared and looked over at where the shuriken had lodged in the ground in time to see a hand pull it out of the ground. A female figure in red stood above the spot where the shuriken had been. Mitsurugi stared at her. She stared at him. Mitsurugi sighed and said,

"I've _really_ had enough of you."

Taki smiled and said,

"I know."

Mitsurugi turned around and picked Kilik up by the waist and hoisted him over his shoulder as the ninja picked up Xianghua. Mitsurugi looked around and was alarmed when he did not immediately see Maxi. He ran outside and saw Maxi staring at the rooftop of the buildings across the street. He sighed and turned to Mitsurugi.

"The coward ran away." Maxi said, and threw a stone at the ground in frustration. He looked over at Taki, then at Mitsurugi and simply said,

"It looks as if you two will be joining us in our little quest."

And indeed it did.

After they loaded the two unconscious warriors into Maxis caravan, they set out into the west, in search of Nightmare and the Soul Edge. Little did they know that Nightmare would be the absolute least of their worries. For something else was growing powerful in the absence of the Evil Blade…

… Something much worse.

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**Hethra:** Well that's chapter 4. It's longer that the other chapters, which I find is more interesting to write and read. But y'all know the drill, eh? Read, Review, Repeat: The three steps to keeping an author happy. Until next time.

_ - The Unknown Warrior_


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